Saturday, January 01, 2005

US to increase tsunami aid to 350 million dollars

Yahoo! News - US to increase tsunami aid to 350 million dollars

I applaud President Bush--hesitantly--for increasing the aid to Asian victims of this catastrophe. I wonder why, however, three days after tsunamis devastated several Indian Ocean nations, his initial pledge was a mere $15 million; why, after the US was called "stingy," he upped it to $35 million, and why, now, he has increased the US committment tenfold. I also wonder why Japan, for instance, in the midst of recovery from its most serious post-war recession, has already pledged $500 million. Japan, with a population of 127 million as compared with the US's 295 million; Japan, with a per capita gross domestic product of $28,000 as compared with the US's $37,800; why is Japan committing more aid to these victims than the United States of America?

If you are reading this, and agree that the United States of America is the strongest, wealthiest, most generous nation on Earth, tell someone. Write to someone; your Congressman/woman, your Senator, the President. In a country that spends $50 million to inaugurate a President following an election that cost $4 billion to run, why are we unable to come up with $1 billion in aid for a region that, even before the devastation of nature, was one of the poorest in the world?

Tell your representatives: ONE BILLION AMERICAN DOLLARS TO AID THE TSUNAMI VICTIMS!

It's the Christian thing to do...

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